Cast: Jay Bhanushali, Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh
Director: Vishal Pandya
Aren't thrillers made with the sole idea to put the viewers on the edge of their seats? Wouldn't you consider intense excitement, the need to build up tension and anticipation of events to happen as some of the basic elements for a successful thriller? If we, as viewers, are so sure about what makes a good thriller, how could the makers of 'Hate Story 2' not focus on them? Yes, these are a string of questions that are bound to haunt you when you come out of the theater, cursing yourself and the promos of 'Hate Story 2' that made you prefer this film over other Bollywood and Hollywod releases of this week.
Agreed, it isn't one of those films that you've been waiting to release, but yes, when you are an hour into the film, still failing to figure out what it is trying to say and find yourself sitting in the theater bored and unsurprised, you realize you were better at home, away from this chaos. So what exactly works against 'Hate Story 2'? Well, just about everything - the plot, the acting and most importantly the logic. Yawn.
Sonika (Surveen Chawla) is ill-treated, used and discarded by politician Mandar Mhatre (Sushant Singh), but not even once are the viewers explained the reason for her inability to stand up for herself and stop the sexual violence she is subjected to. Sonika, who looks normal during her photography classes, begins to stutter in Mhatre's presence. Even though Mhatre forces restrictions on Sonika to ensure she doesn't leave him, she falls for Akshay (Jay Bhanushali), who is eventually murdered. She is buried alive for cheating on Mhatre, but she manages to survive only to avenge her lover's brutal killing. So yes, this is just another predictable film which is uninteresting, monotonous and dramatically incoherent.
If you ignore the trifling romance between Sonika and Akshay, which kicks off with a song and ends in the same way, and Mhatre's obsession with chess, nothing significant transpires until the second half of the film when Sonika chalks out a plan to taken on her tormentors.
Of all the actors, Surveen Chawla and Sushant Singh manage to make somewhat of an impression. We like Surveen for shunning her girl-next-door image in her Bollywood debut, and appreciate her for a couple of sequences where she performs uncontrollable trembling (an offshoot of her medical problem) impeccably.
Sushant Singh, as a villain is unforgettable. Even though his performance in 'Hate Story 2' is not as powerful, creepy and mesmerizing as the one in 'Jungle', he manages to wow you with his sinister ways when wronged. His performance could have been more maniacal had he not mouthed some really bizarre dialogues. 'Baba kehtey they, chinti ke par aur nagin ke sar shuruaat mei hi kuchal dene chahiye', 'Aise hi dum ghut ta hai jab tu mujhse door honey ki koshish karti hai' , 'Kaidi ki rihaai ki aarzoo aur rakhael ki azaadi ki aarzoo, sar uthaegi zaroor, baba kehtey they' are some of the disturbing dialogues that take away the impact of his role.
Jay Bhanushali, who made his Bollywood debut with 'Hate Story 2', deserved a well-etched out character. Jay, who enters the film after about 40 minutes it begins, wasn't bad in his portrayal, but as an actor he can only do so much with what the script offered.
But nothing annoys the cine-goers more than a flawed script. Had the writers paid acute attention to film's plot, the viewers wouldn't have questioned its illogical scenes and unconvincing twists. Unfortunately, even the romantic and soulful track 'Aaj Phir Tumpe', Sunny Leone's 'Pink Lips' don't work in favour of the film.
'Hate Story 2' might survive, courtesy the huge fan following of TV actors Surveen Chawla and Jay Bhanushali, but what a disappointing thriller they'll have to endure.
Rating: 1/5####
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